🇦🇺 Australia — Department of Home Affairs (DIBP)
Australia Skilled Independent Visa (189) — Korean Documents Required
Australia's Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass 189) is a points-tested permanent residence visa that does not require employer sponsorship. Korean nationals invited to apply (ITA from SkillSelect) must apply to the Department of Home Affairs within 60 days, and Home Affairs says it cannot extend this time. Korean documents are submitted at two stages, the skills assessment by the assessing authority for your occupation and the visa application to Home Affairs, and the document rules differ at each stage. Home Affairs' 189 page has no apostille requirement and says you do not need to have any documents certified.
Required Korean Documents
Criminal Background Check
범죄·수사경력 회보서RequiredHome Affairs' entry for South Korea accepts either two certificates, the Criminal Record Check Report (범죄경력회보서) and the Investigation Record Check Report (수사경력회보서), or the combined Criminal (Investigation) Record Check Report (범죄·수사경력회보서), issued by the Korean National Police Agency. Home Affairs asks for a police certificate from every country, including your home country, where you spent a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16. If you served in the military, also provide your service records or discharge papers (병적증명서). No apostille is asked for.
How to apostille this documentMay Also Be Required
Basic Certificate (Birth Certificate)
기본증명서For the main applicant's identity, Home Affairs lists the passport, a national identity card if you have one, and proof of change of name. Prepare the 기본증명서 together with the 가족관계증명서 when you include a child in the application: for dependent children, Home Affairs asks for birth certificates or the family book showing the names of both parents. This mapping to Korean documents is ours; Home Affairs does not name Korean documents. No apostille is asked for.
How to apostille this documentFamily Relations Certificate
가족관계증명서Needed when you include a child in the application. For dependent children, Home Affairs asks for birth certificates or the family book showing the names of both parents. No apostille is asked for. Submit the original with its English translation.
How to apostille this documentMarriage Certificate
혼인관계증명서If you are or have been married, widowed, divorced or permanently separated, Home Affairs asks for proof such as marriage certificates or divorce documents. A marriage certificate is also provided when you include your partner in the application. No apostille is asked for. Submit the original with its English translation.
How to apostille this documentUniversity Diploma
학위증명서Submitted to the assessing authority at the skills assessment stage, not as part of the Home Affairs visa application. Engineers Australia, ACS and VETASSESS ask for a colour scan of the original degree certificate and, for non-English documents, the original-language document together with a translation; none of the three mentions an apostille. ACS lists certified true copies under 'do not submit'. Other assessing authorities may have different rules, so check the guidance of the authority for your occupation.
How to apostille this documentAcademic Transcript
성적증명서Submitted to the assessing authority at the skills assessment stage. Engineers Australia, ACS and VETASSESS ask for a colour scan of the original transcript; none of the three mentions an apostille. For non-English documents, submit the original-language document together with a translation. Other assessing authorities may have different rules.
How to apostille this documentStep-by-Step Process
- 1
Complete a skills assessment with the assessing authority for your occupation — a body separate from Home Affairs with its own document rules. Engineers Australia, ACS and VETASSESS ask for colour scans of your original Korean qualifications and translations meeting their own conditions, and do not mention an apostille (other assessing authorities may differ)
- 2
Submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) in SkillSelect and accumulate points for an Invitation to Apply (ITA)
- 3
Upon receiving an ITA, you have 60 days to lodge a complete visa application with the Department of Home Affairs
- 4
Gather all Korean documents within the 60-day window — have the non-English ones translated into English and scan or photograph the originals and translations in colour (Home Affairs says you do not need to have any documents certified)
- 5
Complete the mandatory health examination at a Home Affairs–approved panel physician
- 6
Submit the complete application online — Home Affairs will request any missing documents
- 7
If you are outside Australia when the visa is granted, enter Australia before the date specified on your visa grant letter
Tips & Common Mistakes
- Start your skills assessment early — how long it takes differs by assessing authority, so check the current guidance of the authority for your occupation
- Each assessing authority has its own requirements for Korean credential submissions — Engineers Australia, ACS and VETASSESS ask for colour scans of the originals and translations meeting their conditions and do not mention an apostille, and ACS lists certified true copies under 'do not submit'. Other assessing authorities may have different rules
- Home Affairs' translator rules depend on where the translator is — translators in Australia must be NAATI-accredited; translators outside Australia do not have to be accredited, but on each translation must give their full name, address and telephone number, and qualifications and experience in the language, in English. Assessing authorities word their translator conditions differently, so a translation meant for both stages must meet both sets of conditions
- The 60-day ITA window cannot be extended — plan the issuance and translation of your Korean documents, such as police certificates, before you receive an ITA, and time the police certificate against the period Home Affairs accepts it for
- If your Korean degree is not your highest qualification (e.g., you have an Australian or US degree), skills assessment requirements may vary
- If a body other than Home Affairs or the three assessing authorities above (a professional registration or licensing body, a university, an employer, a court, or an assessing authority with different rules) separately asks for authentication of a Korean document, the method is an apostille, not embassy legalization — the Overseas Koreans Agency (재외동포청) issues it for public documents and the Ministry of Justice (법무부) for notarized private documents such as a company reference letter
Frequently Asked Questions
Do my translations have to be done by a NAATI-accredited translator?
Only if the translator is in Australia. NAATI (National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters) is Australia's national accreditation body for translators, and Home Affairs requires translators in Australia to be NAATI-accredited. Translators outside Australia do not have to be accredited, but on each translation they must give their full name, address and telephone number, and qualifications and experience in the language, in English. Submit the original and the translation together; Home Affairs says you do not need to have any documents certified. Skills assessing authorities set their own translator conditions, so check those separately.
Does my Korean degree need a skills assessment for the Subclass 189 visa?
Yes. Home Affairs says you must have a suitable skills assessment at the time you are invited to apply, and that it must be undertaken by an assessing authority listed against your occupation. The skills assessment is a separate step from the Home Affairs application, and the assessing authority sets its own document rules. Engineers Australia, ACS and VETASSESS ask for colour scans of the original diploma and transcript and translations meeting their own conditions, and do not mention an apostille. Other assessing authorities may have different rules, so check the guidance of the authority for your occupation.
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